Seaside (Liane Carroll album)


Seaside, a studio album by English jazz pianist/vocalist Liane Carroll, was released on 18 September 2015 on Linn Records and received four-starred reviews in The Guardian, The Observer and Mojo magazine. The title track was written by Joe Stilgoe.

Reception

Reviewing the album for Scottish national newspaper The Herald, Keith Bruce described it as "not only Carroll's best disc, but one of the finest non-classical releases in the Linn catalogue". Jim Burlong, writing for Jazz Views, said: "This is a wonderful album by one of our greatest jazz talents so full of quality and diversity. I doubt if there will be a better vocal based recording issued anywhere this year." Dave Gelly, who gave the album four stars in his review for The Observer, described the title track as "a haunting piece, beautifully arranged, which brings out her extraordinary ability to absorb the essence of a song and deliver it with such candour that you scarcely notice the artistry involved". John Fordham, in a four-starred review for The Guardian, described the Seaside album as "casually expressive, unblinkingly honest, and often charmingly autobiographical" and said that only "the superb British standards-and-ballads singer Liane Carroll" could make an album like this one. In a four-starred review for Mojo, Fred Dellar described it as "jazz of the highest quality". Peter Quinn, for Jazzwise, said: "Liane Carroll has that rare ability to meld effortless, often transcendent vocal and piano technique, with heart stopping emotion and soul bearing power. It should be no surprise then that her latest album, Seaside, combines all this with a savvy sophistication befitting of one of Britain’s finest jazz singers". Writing also on The Arts Desk website, Quinn described Carroll's album as one of 2015's "outstanding vocal jazz releases... a sublime 10-track love letter to her home town of Hastings". According to John Marley of Yorkshire daily newspaper The Press it was the best 2015 vocal jazz album.

Track listing

  1. "Seaside"
  2. "Almost Like Being in Love
  3. "Bring Me Sunshine"
  4. "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine"
  5. "Get Me Through December"
  6. "Mercy Now"
  7. "Wild is the Wind"
  8. "I Cover the Waterfront"
  9. "My Ship"
  10. "For Those in Peril of the Sea"

    Personnel

The album was recorded in Hastings at Quietmoney Studios and produced by James McMillan.
The cover photograph is by Carol Murphy.